The Lady Bulldogs’ attempt at a third consecutive Southeastern Conference road opening win was thwarted by Vanderbilt Thursday night by a final score of 72-50.
Mississippi State fell behind early in the game, giving up two three-pointers to Vanderbilt guard Merideth Marsh on the Lady Commodores’ first two possessions. Vanderbilt kept its lead throughout the game, as the Lady Bulldogs turned the ball over four times in the first three minutes of play, helping Vanderbilt to an early 22-10 lead with just more than eight minutes left in the first half.
The Lady Bulldogs tried to catch up late in the first period, bringing Vanderbilt’s lead to seven, but they could not overcome the 27-percent shooting performance of the Lady Commodores. Vanderbilt had the lead at halftime with a score of 36-25.
Junior point guard Marneshia Richard was knocked out of most of the second half of play due to injury. She left the game at the 18-minute mark.
Vanderbilt did not let its guard down in the second half, as they built on its strong first-half performance.
The Lady Commodores stretched their lead to as high as 22 in the half, forcing MSU to a poor shooting performance from the field.
The Lady Bulldogs were led in scoring by sophomore guard Alexis Rack, who contributed a total of 17 points in 36 minutes of play, while also adding a season-high five assists.
Rack continued to shoot the ball from behind the arc, adding five three-pointers in the game.
The Lady Commodores had four players who scored in double figures for the game. Marsh led Vanderbilt with 15 points, including 3-of-8 shooting from behind the three-point line.
The Lady Bulldogs (12-5, 0-2 SEC) also failed in their attempt to overcome Kentucky (8-8, 2-0 SEC) Sunday afternoon at the Humphrey Coliseum with a final score of 64-60.
“It takes 40 minutes, and Kentucky has been challenged,” Lady Bulldogs head coach Sharon Fanning said. “They are a great team, and they have great balance.”
The Lady Wildcats stayed ahead on the scoreboard after Imesia Jackson scored with just more than 11 minutes left in the first half of play giving a score of 2-0.
“We are just ecstatic to get this win,” Lady Wildcats head coach Matthew Mitchell said. “We knew coming in that Mississippi State would put up a challenge. We just tried to match their intensity and effort as we competed at a high physical and mental level.”
The Lady Bulldogs were playing without Richard due to the injury she sustained during the game against Vanderbilt.
“I tried not to let Marneshia being gone affect me,” Rack said. “I just went out there and played hard.”
MSU missed many vital free throws and jumpers.
“We have to get free throws and take care of the basketball, and we just did not do that enough today,” Fanning said.
Tysheka Grimes said she felt there was a mental concept that kept them from getting the lead.
“We failed to be consistent, and that is something that we have to be in every single game we play,” Grimes said.
The Lady Bulldogs will be on the road to play LSU Sunday at 2 p.m.